CHRIST IN SOLOMON – HIS WISDOM

Suggested Reading: 1 Kings chapter 3 verses 5-15; chapter 4 verses 29-34

‘The price of wisdom is above rubies’, Job chapter 28 verse 18. Job’s words confirm to us that God’s gift of wisdom was Solomon’s greatest possession. When he came to the throne of Israel, he recognised the magnitude of the task before him and his own inadequacy to meet its demands. He described himself to God as ‘a little child’ and his subjects as ‘Your people . . . a great people’, 1 Kings chapter 3 verses 7-8. He did not seek for intellectual wisdom but for an understanding that touched the heart. He appreciated that such wisdom is ‘from above’, James chapter 1 verse 17, and that all he needed to do was to ask God for it.

Solomon’s genuine concern for the people pleased God and He gave him a wise and an understanding heart. It is no surprise, therefore, to discover that his wisdom ‘excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt’ 1 Kings chapter 4 verses 30-31. The Queen of Sheba and many kings from various other areas came to hear the wisdom of a man who spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs, Sadly, his words did not always find expression in his life and ultimately he allowed his numerous wives to turn away his heart from the Lord, 1 Kings chapter 11 verse 4. The wise man became foolish at the end of his days!

How comforting it is to turn away from Solomon and hear the Lord Jesus declare, ‘A greater than Solomon is here’, Matthew chapter 12 verse 42. Unlike Solomon, He never had to ask God to grant Him wisdom and there was never any disparity between His words and His deeds. Luke tells us that by the age of twelve, ‘He was filled with wisdom’, Luke chapter 2 verse 40.